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2 Apr 2003 : Column 760W—continued

Policing (North Belfast)

Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) full-time officers and (b) part-time officers there were in North Belfast on 1 July in each year since 1998. [105908]

Jane Kennedy: The following table shows the number of police officers serving in North Belfast on 1 July each year since 1998. CID Officers came under the control of respective District Commanders upon the establishment of District Command Units in 2001 therefore they are shown in addition to operational police officers.

	Regular	F/T reserves	P/T reserves
1998	358	146	121
1999	346	142	119
2000	342	128	108
2001	345 (+32 CID)	124	103
2002	317 (+28 CID)	104	98
2003(13)	324 (+29 CID)	85	91

⁽¹³⁾ Figure as at 14 March 2003

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

Court of Protection

Mrs. Brooke: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department pursuant to her answer of 20 March, Official Report, column 908W, on Court of Protection (portfolio holdings), what proportion of funds are retained in the Special Account; what the average number of portfolio holdings held by the Public Guardianship Office was between February 1999 and February 2003; what the total value of portfolio holdings was at the end of February (a) 1999 and (b) 2003; and what scrutiny procedures are in place for the work of private fund managers under contract to the PGO. [105880]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The precise information requested is not available.

As at 31 March 2002, holdings in the Special Account stood at approximately 65 per cent. of total funds, compared with 62 per cent. in March 2001 and 60 per cent. in March 2000.

The total number of receivership cases handled by the Public Guardianship Office (PGO) was 37,000 in early 1999 and is now about 18,000. This reduction reflects the switch to the use of Enduring Powers of Attorney and the introduction of a higher capital threshold for receivership.

Portfolios managed by external fund managers were as follows:

£ million

	March 2002	December 2002
Panel fund managers
Securities	415	415
Cash	130	260
Non-panel fund managers	60	80
Total	605	755
Number of cases managed	1,900	2,700

Both the panel and non-panel fund managers working for PGO clients are required to follow the investment directions given by the Court of Protection. Investment performance is calculated annually and the total outcome for a case is reported on a monthly basis. The panel fund managers are also required to attend meetings of the Lord Chancellor's Strategic Investment Board and answer questions about their performance and conduct of their clients' affairs.

2 Apr 2003 : Column 761W

ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agricultural Support

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her estimate is of public spending on agricultural support for each year from 1980–81 to 2004–05 in (a) cash terms and (b) real terms; and if she will make a statement. [105129]

Mr. Morley [holding answer 27 March 2003]: The following table provides estimates of public expenditure under the CAP and on national grants and subsidies from 1980–81 to 2002–03. No estimates are available for subsequent years.

Public expenditure under the CAP and on national grants and subsidies£ million

	Current prices	Real terms 2002–03 prices
1980–81	1,012	384
1981–82	972	413
1982–83	1,433	660
1983–84	1,729	834
1984–85	1,712	867
1985–86	2,165	1,162
1986–87	1,449	804
1987–88	1,630	943
1988–89	1,380	837
1989–90	1,258	822
1990–91	1,910	1,367
1991–92	1,979	1,499
1992–93	2,028	1,594
1993–94	2,905	2,320
1994–95	2,512	2,054
1995–96	2,897	2,451
1996–97	4,318	3,742
1997–98	3,583	3,203
1998–99	3,482	3,219
1999–00	3,161	2,967
2000–2001	3,042	2,940
2001–02(14)	4,664	4,590
2002–03(14),(15)	3119	3119

⁽¹⁴⁾ From 2001–02 figures are based on accrual accounts and cannot be compared directly with historical figures.

⁽¹⁵⁾ Forecast

Source:

Agriculture in the United Kingdom

2 Apr 2003 : Column 762W

Farm Incomes

Norman Baker : To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average farm incomes, by sector, were in each year since 1992 for farms within the (a) Sussex Downs and (b) Sussex Weald. [99915]

Mr. Morley : Net farm income estimates are obtained from a sample survey. Results are not available for the Sussex Downs or the Sussex Weald. Figures are available for East and West Sussex as a whole but these cannot be provided for individual sectors because the sample size is too small.

Net farm income for all farm types excluding horticulture—East and West Sussex

Average net farm income per farm (£/farm)
Farm type	1992–93	1993–94	1994–95	1995–96	1996–97	1997–98	1998–99	1999–2002	2000–01	2001–02	2002–03
At current prices										(16)—	(17)—
All types (excluding horticulture)	14,000	16,000	20,500	22,000	24,500	14,000	-6,000	-2,500	0	-2,500	N/a

⁽¹⁶⁾ Excluding farms subjected to compulsory FMD cull

⁽¹⁷⁾ Provisional

Source:

Farm Business Survey

Results by sector for this period are readily available in continuous form only for England.

Net farm income by type of farm—England

Average net farm income per farm (£/farm)
Farm type	1992–93	1993–94	1994–95	1995–96	1996–97	1997–98	1998–99	1999–2002	2000–01	2001–02	2002–03
At current prices										(18)—	(19)—
Dairy	36,900	42,600	36,300	41,100	33,600	22,000	13,500	9,000	10,800	22,800	17,000
Cattle and sheep (LFA)	13,000	15,900	13,100	17,200	17,400	10,700	5,700	4,600	6,700	9,700	25,00
Cattle and sheep (lowland)	10,000	13,400	10,400	10,800	9,500	1,100	900	600	-400	-500	8,000
Cereals	24,200	24,000	31,700	49,600	43,900	16,800	8,900	13,500	7,300	4,100	9,500
General cropping	35,900	44,800	72,200	89,100	47,600	23,100	36,000	8,800	18,400	17,900	17,500
Pigs and poultry	47,900	14,700	31,500	67,300	60,900	20,400	15,800	-5,300	37,900	21,800	30,000
Mixed	28,300	26,900	34,200	51,800	39,600	8,900	1,600	9,400	9,700	5,500	15,500
All Types (excluding horticulture	30,000	32,800	37,700	49,800	38,300	17,200	11,800	8,600	9,900	10,600	14,500

⁽¹⁸⁾ Excluding farms subjected to compulsory FMD cull

⁽¹⁹⁾ Provisional

Source

Farm Business Survey

2 Apr 2003 : Column 763W

Fishing Industry

Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the recorded (a) proportion and (b) tonnage was of fisheries discards in UK waters in each of the last five years. [103692]

Mr. Morley: UK fisheries laboratories send observers to sea to record the quantity of fish discarded and retained by fishing vessels. Systematic data over five years for a representative sample of the UK fleet is only available for some fisheries. The tables show estimates for the proportion of catch discarded of cod, haddock, and whiting and total discarding of these species by the UK fleet in the North Sea. These estimates are obtained by raising the observer data to the total number of recorded days-at-sea.

(a) Percentage of catch discarded (by weight)

Species	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002
England
Cod	15	17	16	13	25
Haddock	21	14	41	40	9
Whiting	44	61	53	63	41
Scotland
Cod	23	12	17	23	9
Haddock	38	41	52	75	46
Whiting	35	48	49	46	52

(b) Discard estimates (in tonnes)

Species	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002
England
Cod	9,649	4,464	582	1,451	1,335
Haddock	1,867	1,801	3,448	4,061	1,112
Whiting	6,602	9,204	667	7,867	2,808
Scotland
Cod	10,287	2,991	4,141	4,440	1,519
Haddock	35,134	35,270	39,745	86,297	32,196
Whiting	8,861	15,563	16,211	8,869	8,315

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the No. 10 Strategic Policy Unit Paper on a strategy for the fishing industry for the next 5–10 years which was commissioned in January will be published. [103958]

Mr. Morley [holding answer 20 March 2003]: On 27 March I announced that the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit had begun work to develop a strategy for a sustainable UK fishing industry over the next 5–10 years. Further information can be found on the Strategy Unit website http://www.strategy.gov.uk.

A consultation document will be published in the next few months with the final report due for completion by the end of the year.

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